Idol Headlines for 02/17/12

Chris Daughtrytweets about the Esquire Song Challenge: “Just played guitar on @HamiltonAnthony song now about to watch him do his thang! http://twitpic.com/8kvaw4…We’ve been recording our own songs we wrote for the @Esquiremag songwriting challenge. Set up in a hotel room…kinda cool vibe.

Bucky Covington Helping “Help The Good Guys” – Bucky Covington has joined forces with charitable organization Help The Good Guys to honor and support our country’s injured fire fighters, police officers and their families. The former American Idol finalist is partnering with the organization, which works to raise awareness and funds for the more than 130,000 fire fighters and law enforcement officers who experience a financial crisis due to work-related injuries each year. – Read more at Keepin it Country

‘IDOL’-IZING MARTIN LUTHER KING — Lady Tramaine Hawkins and former “American Idol” contestant George Huff join for “THE MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO MLK” at Waetjean Auditorium at Cleveland State University at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. – Morning Journal

Adam Lambert: Q102 Studios Visit! – Adam Lambert pays a visit to the Q102 iHeart Performance Theater on Thursday (February 16) in Bala Cynwyd, Penn.The 30-year-old singer met up with radio personalities Nicole and Maxwell, who he chatted with on the air! – See the photos at Just Jared

Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted.I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!

Lane also tweeted about her last night, anyone think Haley might have a thing for shoes? Lane Newland @LNEWLAND1 Every girls dream lineup of shoes! So far, this wardrobe fitting with@HaleyReinhart is perfect! yfrog.com/h4id2knj

milwlovesadam

This is from PST yesterday. Unbelievable vocals and charming Adam mesmerizing peeps up close. Oh, to have been there…

American Idol’s 2 hour episode scored a 5.0 adults 18-49 rating, down 14% vs. a 5.8 rating for its one hour episode last week. That led a Fox win for adults 18-49 ratings and total viewership by a comfortable margin over CBS on Thursday night.

CBS’s The Big Bang Theory drew a 5.0 adults 18-49 rating, down 10% vs. a season high 5.6 rating last week, but that still beat American Idol in the 8-8:30 half hour (vs. Idol’s 4.6 in that half hour).

“This is from PST yesterday. Unbelievable vocals and charming Adam mesmerizing peeps up close. Oh, to have been there…http://www.youtube.com/watch?f… ”

This is my FAVORITE Q&A and performance of all the radio promo so far. He looks & sounds great! Very interesting, what he said about it being a complete acoustic experience with no speakers. He sounds excited about the songs still in progress.

Yep he sounded really excited about the last minute opportunities that have come up. He’s so happy and upbeat, and doesn’t seem to share anyone’s concern about the album drop date change, talking about how complicated the logistics are with an international album launch and how things have to be shifted around to make sure they give it the best debut possible.

Although he sang into the mic so the radio station could record it, I loved how enthusiastic he was for a chance to sing without it being amped, just feeling the natural acoustics of that tiny cave-like room at the radio station. A really lovely bare acoustic performance.

That’s just a partial of the full bts video. Looks like they got some good shots in there — can’t wait to see the full campaign. There’s supposed to be a giant billboard going up in the next few days. David has two more appearances tomorrow (actually today) for Bench at malls in Manila. He should finally be flying back to the States soon after that; probably on Sunday. Five consecutive weeks is a long time to be gone on a business trip lol. But I guess he’ll be gone a lot longer than that coming up really quick. :

Anonymous

Anyone know if the 70th birthday salute to Muhammad Ali is being televised?

Amazing intimate, charming interview and brilliant performance. No speakers, totally acoustic and he still delivers a flawless, beautiful vocal. Just wow.

sdmama

I little annoyed that “Openly Gay” is now replaced by “30 years old” in many articles. There has to be a better description to attach to Adam.

Anonymous

Is that really that big of a deal? It’s not unusual for an artist age to be mentioned. It’s a big step up in this country from when every article was describing him as openly gay singer Adam Lambert. So that’s a lot of progress on one front.

Anonymous

I little annoyed that “Openly Gay” is now replaced by “30 years old” in many articles. There has to be a better description to attach to Adam.

Maybe it’s a progression. Adam used to say no one would take a chance on him because he was gay, twenty-seven, and weird. So, for two years it was “gay.” Now it’s “old.” Next era maybe it’ll be “weird,” and then we’ll be out of descriptors and they’ll have to fall back on “superstar.” :)

Cate Breen ? @FanadamaListening to SiriusXM in my car and just heard that @adamlambert is hosting Hit Bound this weekend on Hits1. Yay!!

Nele621

“Grammy nominated platinum recording artist, Adam Lambert” is misleading, tho. Makes it sound like he has a platinum album, and he is far from it.

Anonymous

Adam has been all over promoting his new music. If this era doesn’t fly, it won’t be from lack of effort on his part, RCA’s or his management. It is such a hard business in which success involves a lot of luck. For success one needs talent, hard work and a ton of luck. I guess luck could be just having the right sound at the right time ala Adele. The rub is how does an artist know what that desired sound is going to be?

Anonymous

Not really. His single went platinum, so he is, indeed a “Grammy nominated platinum recording artist”. I have heard Kris announced as a “platinum recording artist” at some of his events (such as when he sings the national anthem at a game). Again — even though his album didn’t go platinum, it is still accurate to describe him as such, since his single has sold more than a million copies.

There is something very special about Haley Reinhart. She first caught my eye at her AI audition and my admiration only grew the more I saw and heard of her. Now all this time later I still get super excited about whatever she does. There are all kinds of great voices out there, but every once in a while someone comes along who, along with being incredibly talented, reaches a place deep within my heart and soul.

Well he had a platinum single, that counts for something. Maybe not, if it’s Adam.

ronnie

Strangely, it seems like Adam’s album has already tanked, and it hasn’t even been released yet! What he needs to do is release a few clips from the album to try to build excitement for it again, to prove there are some actual good songs on the album. I remember them releasing clips from the first album and that gave it real good buzz. The impression that BTIKM has made is that this is a subpar effort and he needs to correct that in people’s minds even if they let this song play out until the end- if they are not going to release a second single right away, they should at least release some 30 second clips of five or six songs.

fuzzywuzzy

Yes, I think so too. It would be misleading if the total of singles and albums sold was “platinum”, but the artist did not have any individual song or album that was certified platinum. I think that as long as any artist has a certified platinum song or album, they can legitimately be refered to as a “platinum recording artist”.

Anonymous

Adam had a platinum album in many countries. He also had a platinum selling single in the US and three multi-platinum selling singles outside of the US.

Anonymous

I think maybe with some people, they may have have assumed it was going to fail even before he released anything. I think it’s a matter of perspective and how they feel about Adam and his music. Sometimes that colors people’s opinion for the better and the worse. As for releasing snippets of any songs, that would be silly considering the album isn’t finished yet.

mmb

I don’t think @830k in sales is “far” from a platinum album. It’s closer to the million mark than the half million mark. Anyway, Adams FYE was certified platinum in several countries outside the US, and wwfm has sold over 1.85 million in the US and wwfm, iihy and even the much maligned fye were certified platinum and/or muktiplatinum outside the US. So Adam can certainly be referred to as a platinum selling artist.

Anyway, looks like Adam may be flying back to Europe ( or someplace overseas) today. Where is he going? What’s he doing? Lol

Nice to see Interscope and 19 supporting Haley so well and getting her good gigs. Looking forward to hearing what she and her team have come up with.

Anonymous

RCA will release the snippets from all the songs when the entire album is ready. It’s the same thing they do for everyone and the same thing they did last time for FYE.

The album has been pushed back a few weeks. The only people that care about this delay are fans (that are anxious to get the album) and a few people in the small Idol Bubble. It isn’t shocking or rare for albums to change release dates. Off the top of my head, albums that have been pushed back: Daughtry, Clarkson, Drake, Minaj, and even Madonna. An album delay seems to freak out many in the Bubble, but those in the record business know this is a typical occurrence.

Anonymous

I kind of agree with this. Though I don’t disllike BTIKM like you, I do think it is really an average song sung by a great singer. Judging by what listeners have said, it does not represent the album and that other tracks are far more exciting. From the little I heard of the title track Trespassing it sounded far more innovative and “cool”. It does seem like the perception as this album is being dragged down by an uninteresting and not represenative single. A good leak might help also.

The question about being able to sing live was a interesting question and I think it gives the reason why Adam is such a good live performer. It’s discipline, skill, striving to improve from the last performance. Just look at the Grammy’s for example, some sung live and some didn’t. For those actually singing, it was a mixture of the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Those lip syncing, you kind of expected them to. They were better at the visual then actual vocal performances. You have to give it to Idol for producing some talented singers who can actually sing their music live and sing it well.

Anonymous

Albums delays are pretty much the norm for the labels. If it’s not ready, it’s not ready and you wait until it is ready. I’m one of the fans who don’t have a problem with the delay. It’s going to come out sounds like in April. Between the album and the news about whatever is going on with Queen, I think there is going to be plenty of stuff to keep Adam busy and in the news. I can’t wait till Monday evening to find out what the big announcement is from Queen. Hoping for the confirmed date of their next performance.

How wonderful to read such positive news on what GEORGE HUFF is doing! This is such an honor, and I really liked him in Season 3.

I believe (correct me if necessary) that Simon named George and Brooke White as the nicest contestants to appear on the Idol show.

Nele621

Has Adam’s album tanked? I know I’m reading everywhere BTIKM has flopped. Is that why they are adding new songs, thus the delay? Maybe he had too many gay themed songs and his label wanted him to record some radio friendly songs.

Anonymous

Shouldn’t the album be released before making such a declaration? As for the additional songs, it was stated many times that the album wasn’t finished, and that there were a few songs in the works. Only 10 of the 12 songs have ever been confirmed finished. Really, we are talking a delay of a few weeks, not months.

The first single isn’t good enough to be a “smash.” None of us know why the label picked that one, but they did. “Electronic Dance Dub Pop” is very big right now, and I think that is the direction he is going in. Lets hope Adam and the label are making the right decision.

Anonymous

“My ding-a-ling” by Chuck Berry beats gay themed songs any time, beacause it’s about just one ding-a-ling.

Anonymous

Nele621-Actually you are right, he is closer to a multi platinum album, since he has sold almost 2 million world wide. And I think he sold about 4-5 million singles, so yeah more like multi platinum.

Eh, Lambert was talking about album songs other than BTIKM “taking you to the club” back before BTIKM’s video came out, so it sounds like there were always CHR-friendly songs being tracked.

Personally, I would have used one of those songs as the lead single, but with the kerfluffle over releasing a single timed to distract from that album-of-old-stuff-whatevs and some tracks not being finished at that time, who knows what was actually ready to be sent to radio?

Or maybe Lambert really made his case for revealing more of himself [paraphrase from interview] before releasing the more CHR-friendly songs, and the label went for it. If so, I’m torn: I generally admire musicians having ability to negotiate effectively with the label suits, but it’s more fun when the results are stellar.

Either way, there’s still time to try again with another single before the album release. Even doing a CHR-friendly single after the album release — it’d be crappy for first-week album sales, but presumably it’d eventually do some good. It’s far too early to write off Lambert’s album.

Anonymous

Oksana4626- lolololololol!

Anonymous

How can an album tank before it has even been released?

Anonymous

I was wondering the same thing?

What is a “gay-themed” song? Would that be songs like Born This Way or I Kissed a Girl?

Anonymous

LOL! I was thinking the same thing, maybe people should wait till the album is “actually” released and people “actually” hear the songs. I know it sounds crazy but possibly people should wait to after it actually go on sale before we commit Trespassing to the $5 bargain bin at Wallyworld.

Anonymous

I hope this is wrong, but maybe people only like gay friendly songs sung by straight people. BTIKM is not a gay friendly song, but rather has a universal message that can be understood by all people. By the way, I think OOL is just about the most moving song I ever heard because it talks about a subject that has long been taboo or the subject of cruel jokes sung by a man who is living the experience.

The impression that BTIKM has made is that this is a subpar effort and he needs to correct that in people’s minds even if they let this song play out until the end-…..

JMO but I really disagree with this. The only place I read comments about this being a bum song is here. Every review I’ve seen has not called it a bad or sub-par song. A few indicated they liked other songs better and found others more exciting and fresh and awesome as the other tracks they got to hear at the various listening party (but those reviews were actually pretty careful to say they still thought it to be a good song). So I’d love to see a link to a music industry review that actually stated that their impression of this song is “sub-par”.

If you don’t like it then you don’t like it but I think it’s coloring your perception of other people’s minds.

I’ve seen plenty of positive comments and not just from fans, about this single.

Regarding the album again the only place I’ve seen any talk that it’s failing is here.

Anonymous

Regarding the album again the only place I’ve seen any talk that it’s failing is here.

Nobody else is talking about an unreleased album as a failure besides one or two posters keep repeating themselves.

Deanna Damonte

ITA – I really love the song BTIKM – I think it’s very current sounding and pop radio friendly, especially with the production. And the vocals are excellent, but I’m a fan so….. I like it better than WWFM and think it’s more current and that certainly got played. I’m certainly not ready to give up on radio play yet. Maybe the song doesn’t jump out at me like a couple others on radio have last year, but I think it’s very solid (which is why it was probably chosen). If it doesn’t take off, could be a myriad of reasons I guess, but there is no guarantee that any other song on the album would have an easier time getting airplay.

And let’s get out of the bubble and remember Axl Rose and his 13 YEAR delay..heehee.

Anonymous

I see no reason to think that Adam’s album will be a flop at this point, one to two months before it is even scheduled to be released. Adam and everybody else who has worked on it or heard it seem very excited by it’s prospects. On the otherhand, if BTIKM does not begin to pick up steam soon, and/or if RCA does not release a second single before the album release date (basically, if he doesn’t have a strong radio presence by then), I don’t think it is out of line to predict that his first week US sales will be in the range of David Cook’s first week sales (40,000 to 60,000). This would not be disasterous, and certainly he could still get a big hit after the fact, but it would be disappointing. Here’s hoping something starts cooking before then.

Anonymous

Not so fast, Watson. I think there is lots of wishful thinking on both sides: those who would love to see Adam succeed and those who would love to see him fail. I am in the first group and my hopes for this album are high. Time will tell. Meanwhile we will all have fun speculating, and highlighting the data that supports our story.

Anonymous

LOL. Good Point. But then again, the fruits of that 13 year wait didn’t exactly set the music industry on fire. More of a cautionary tale really.

Anonymous

I also think that “not getting radio play” does not necessarily equate a “subpar effort”.

Anonymous

-She slayed an unreleased GaGa song -Beyonce called her fierce, adding that she has balls -Baby Face called her a ‘real artist’ -Tony Bennett tells her, she’s the real deal and really knows how to sing, she does it right. -Led Zeppelin gave her permission -Performed in the Finale with Dad on guitar, 1st time in AI history a parent performed on AI stage with contestant. -Irvin Mayfield Jr. has invited her to perform with him at Carnegie Hall -Interscope has allowed her to co-write almost all her songs -She’s got them to let her Father play guitar on some of her songs in her debut album. -Slash will accompany her with his guitar on a stage that’ll include Cee-Lo for Mohhamed Ali…..an event to be shown on ESPN and ABC

And all this before her single has come out

Good to be a Halien :D

Anonymous

I think it’s pretty much a given that a second single will be released before the album drops. I think that’s a piece of the “strategic” part of the delay. And, Adam has already kind of hinted at this as well.

Everything we have heard from critics thus far points to this being a very good album, and RCA is certainly treating it as such. And Adam’s excitement is infectious.

I have absolutely no idea what to think about 1st week numbers, but I will say that 40-60K, regardless of the situation, would be extremely disappointing. Extremely. In my opinion and probably everybody elses. I have to think Adam and the label are expecting/hoping for much better.

milwlovesadam

I am very much looking forward to Hayley’s songs and CD. I wish her only success, and would love to see her perform live. Her voice is killer, she is classy and classic.

Oh, I didnt’ mean it as anything other than the point that delays of much longer than a month or two are routine–and have nothing to do, most of the time, with the ultimate success or lack of success, of the music. BTW, I really like BTIM. I especially love the acoustic versions. I think Adam did this exactly to bring up memories of WWFM. It def. does so. I don’t think it is ‘failing’–although I hoped it would move up faster, it is moving.

Anonymous

I never thought it was possible to make a claim that an album is dead before it’s even heard. I guess the next step would be for us to start speculating how long it will be before he’s dropped from his label? Then, guess how long before he’s going to become the permanent lead singer for Queen or maybe he’s going to star on Broadway.

milwlovesadam

Oh, and by the way, I have only seen positive press about Trespassing and BTIKM. In a gazillion places. Trust me, us fans have seen them all. I have not seen any negativity anywhere else. Even on celebrity bashing sites. It’s waaaay too early to put the cart before the horse. It’s not even Maypril yet.

In the meantime, with all the interviews, promo, and TV appearances, Adam is on fire. And, with something being announced on Monday ( Queen? Olympics? BBC awards show appearance?) this fan is very happy.

Anonymous

I agree, and said the exact same thing re. that number being disappointing. I also said that all the pundits were saying it was a really good album. My prediction was based on IF, and only IF, BTIKM and/or another single didn’t give him more of a radio presence by album release. Given that scenario, and based on his first week single sales (keeping in my mind that casual fans are more likely to buy a single rather than an album), what do you think his first week sales would be?

But this is a worst case scenario. I myself don’t care for BTIKM (as beautifully sung as it is), so I really don’t think it is going to go much higher, but I do think they are going to release a second, edgier, funner single with more hit potential. So hopefully it’s all moot.

ronnie

A delay of an album after the first single did not take off is never good news, I don’t know where people have heard otherwise. I would love to hear an example.

Does anyone know what Casey Abrams and Jacob Lusk are doing? Casey appears to be or at least have been in London, and Jacob seems to be flying randomly around the US. I know Casey is working on a CD – but why London? And I think Jacob is also working on s CD. But they only give vague comments and nothing else….

Since Adam is no stranger to controversial live television performances (*cough* the 2009 AMAs!!! *cough*), we thought we’d get his opinion on Nicki Minaj’s “Exorcism Of Roman” number from at the Grammys this past weekend.

Well, it’s a lot better than the alternative, right? I mean, they could just ride it out with the single, do no strategic re-thinking and drop the album as planned. One thing I think Adam has done remarkably well is explaining to fans what is going on with the album and why the delay is happening. And it all makes sense to me.

A delay of an album after the first single doesn’t take off is only bad news if the album has nothing else to offer. If there are no more radio-friendly songs and the artist and label have nowhere else to go. That doesn’t sound like the case here at all.

And I could give you examples of successful “delays” but, frankly, I wouldn’t know. I really don’t follow musicians (even ones I love) closely enough to even be aware of a delay (or delays) in the first place.

Anonymous

Only proves my point. Sing about your ding-a-ling!

Anonymous

Look around.

Anonymous

Nice voice, but too cutesy.

Anonymous

How much do I think it would sell? Who knows? A lot more than 40-60K I guess.

I agree with you. Grammy nominated platinum recording artist fits Adam! And his album did go plantinum in other countries so the statment in any choice is valid!!!!

Anonymous

I don’t follow Casey as closely as Haley to know why he’s in London, it could be a private event, like a few Haley has attended and performed at. We do have Casey fans that hang out at Haley’s forum, so maybe someone will mention it.

Incidently Casey posted this short, but musically awesome minute and half song the day before Valentine’s. I tried to find it on Youtube, but their seach engine sux, so I had to go back to IDF as one of Casey’s fans posted it.

I love how packed with musicality it is in a short 95 seconds :D. I wasn’t 100% sure I would buy his album. After hearing this, I have no doubt I want to hear more of what he has. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do.

That was a sweet little nugget from CaseyA. Thanks for sharing, Xentusk.

Anonymous

You’re welcome. It’s irritating because I want to hear more, it’s like only half a song. LOL

That’s why I will need ALOT more information about Reed Grimm before I can or would ever say he was ‘the next Casey Abrams’. Casey showcased talent before his quirkiness overtook perception of his talent.

Right now, Reed’s quirkiness defines him to AI’s audience more than his talent.

Well, obviously. The album hasn’t been released, so can’t be a flop. btikm, now, CAN be said to have flopped. That’s the great thing about the album delay. They have time to work btikm on the radio if they’re crazy enough to do that, or, more sanely, they can introduce a new song that fits radio better than btikm.

Anonymous

Some might call BTIKM a flop (very relative term anyway), but I still melt over the acoustic performances from this week http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZB3srUEFZ4&feature=relmfu

Anonymous

LOL This interviewer was pretty manic. I love how Adam simply adapts to each interviewer and goes with it. Especially that “lips sucker” she gave him. He doesn’t hesitate to just get goofy.

Anonymous

I love full on, Mach speed Adam in concert but when he brings it in and just sings simply and bare bones is just beyond words for me. All of these radio DJ’s have just been falling all over him.

Has anyone seen or heard his interview with Larry Flick from Sirius? I know he did one and I can’t wait to hear it. His last interview for FYE with Larry was amazing. They had a really nice vibe together.

I don’t think it did. I feel kind of bad, with Adam’s east coast radio tour there’s been such an avalanche of interviews and acoustic performances and other appearances and articles that I could barely keep up, I never got around to voting this week.

Anonymous

I don’t remember some people doing the same thing for the other Idols when their albums were delayed, but then again, I didn’t read all the other threads.

As for news on the new release date, he only announced the delay a day or two ago, so it’s unlikely the new release date would be given so soon afterwards. I figure it would take a couple of weeks before something is announced.

Anonymous

Nope

Anonymous

It would be worse news if they didn’t delay, and just released it without active radio presence. At least they appear to be trying to rectify this situation. I am glad RCA appears to have enough faith in the album to give it a good shot.

Anonymous

Isn’t there a two week period before videos appear? That’s how it was with Kelly’s videos, anyway. They didn’t debut till two weeks worth of voting.